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Residential Electric Rates & Line Items

Rates for Customers Who Live Inside the City of Austin

Austin Energy electric bills consistently rank among the lowest in Texas for average residential users and also rank lower than national averages. Austin Energy customers use less electricity than customers in other utilities because of our emphasis on energy efficiency and protecting the environment.

Pass-through Charge Changes Start November 2017

As part of the FY 2018 budget approval process which wrapped up September 19, the Austin City Council approved an increase in two pass-through charges for Austin Energy. The Power Supply Adjustment increased by 7.1% and the Regulatory Charge increased by 1.4%. These changes go into effect November 1, 2017.

As a community-owned utility, Austin Energy works to keep rates low for customers. The charges that are changing are dollar-for-dollar recoveries, and when costs change, the charges must change as well.

Lower Base Rates Adopted in 2016

On August 29, 2016, Austin City Council set new, lower electric base rates. Residential customers overall received approximately $5 million of the reduction.

Part of the 2016 rate change included switching from a seasonal energy rate to an annual energy rate.The new energy rates will be the same all year long. The result is a lower energy rate during the hottest and most expensive time of the year for most of our customers. This change decreases the amount of money most customers pay each year and leads to more predictable bills month to month.

Inside Rates: Five-Tier Rate Structure

Austin Energy has a five-tier rate structure that rewards City of Austin customers who use less electricity with lower rates.

With the five-tier rate structure, you can see how lowering your electric use can result in lower bills. You can lower your electric usage by modifying your energy use or by making energy-efficiency improvements to your home.

Power Supply Adjustment — In addition to the energy charge, the second major component of your bill is the Power Supply Adjustment. The Power Supply Adjustment recovers dollar-for-dollar the net costs of the kilowatt-hours used by customers. Austin Energy makes no profit on this dollar-for-dollar pass-through charge. It covers fuel for our power plants, the cost of electricity purchased from the grid and any net revenues (or losses) experienced as Austin Energy produces and sells power to the grid.

The Power Supply Adjustment is adjusted to reflect the current price of fuel and projected Austin Energy power purchases.

Summer and Winter Seasonal Power Supply Adjustment

Unlike the energy charge, the Power Supply Adjustment will vary between summer and non-summer months.

Austin Energy buys the power needed by our customers from the Texas electric grid at market prices. When demand for power peaks in the summer, so do our costs. To cover these pass-through costs, summer power supply rates are higher than our winter rates.

Regulatory Charge — The Regulatory Charge recovers dollar-for-dollar Austin Energy’s share of the statewide costs of managing, using, and maintaining the transmission grid, as well as other regulatory fees and penalties.

Transmission charges and fees are based on Austin Energy’s share of the summer statewide peak demand— about 4% of the statewide total.

The recent increase in the Regulatory Charge comes from the build-out of additional statewide transmission assets. These costs are reviewed, approved and apportioned by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. These costs are reviewed, approved, and apportioned under rules established by the state Public Utility Commission of Texas.